Writing and Editing

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My guest on this episode of Editing Writing is Donna Mazzitelli. She is a writing coach who helps writers particularly with memoirs. Donna says herself that “everyone has stories to tell, and how we grow through our life experiences is what others want to read. The more we share our stories from our hearts, the more our readers will connect with us and be transformed.” She is the founder of Merry Dissonance Press, and also continues with her own writing. She’s published three children’s books, and earlier this year her first memoir, called Mosaic Heart: Pieces of an Unfinished Life. She’s now at work on her second one, called Madonna Blue Heart. Donna was insightful and empathetic, and a pleasure to talk to. Please listen.

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Barbara Boyd says on her website that a book coach is a combination of “an editor, a project manager, a mentor, and an honest BFF … [providing] editorial feedback, emotional support, and project management and accountability.” In my conversation with her, she was extraordinarily sensitive, intelligent, and articulate. I concentrated on her work with people who are writing memoirs. It was really a fascinating interview of a person whose centredness and empathy I could sense on Zoom all the way from her olive farm in Italy to my condo in Canada. Please listen.

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Jody Sperling is a fiction writer, and one of the few who at one time has had a literary agent to represent his book to publishers. But after failing to attract a willing publisher, in his words, his “dream wilted.” He ultimately went on to found the podcast The Reluctant Book Marketer, appealing to people such as himself who have tried and tried to get published by a traditional publisher, but never succeeded. He now tries to help writers with their marketing mindset. We had a great conversation—Jody is thoughtful and articulate and open—that ranged well beyond the vagaries and frustrations of publishing. Please listen.

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Wayne provides details about how the various parts of a self-published book should generally be organized, drawing on information in three style manuals. You can find a PDF with all the details here.

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This episode of Editing Writing consists of an interview I did with Meryl Klemow. She’s a standup comedian, performing mostly around California, but much more. Meryl co-hosts and co-produces Campfire Sht Show (with the “i” discreetly omitted from the s-word), a weekly comedy podcast with her podcast partner Beau Hufford. She’s also founded Pre-Canceled apparel, so that both she and you can cancel yourself before our woke and cancel culture does. I ordered a T-shirt right after the interview. She was an absolute hoot to talk to.

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This episode of Editing Writing consists of an interview I did with Lindsay Lees.  Lindsay is originally from Los Angeles, but grew up in both the US and the UK. She has a BA from Manchester Metropolitan University and a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from the California College of the Arts. Her debut novel is called The Willing, and is available in paperback and kindle formats on Amazon. We had a really interesting chat about literary technique and dystopia.

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This episode of Editing Writing consists of an interview I did with Ali Khamseh. He describes himself on a website as "a bearded nerd from Iran in his mid 20’s, with a particular interest in the motion pictures as a hobby, career and general life. Has a very high opinion of Jeremy Irons, adores Westerns and Musicals and loves movies from the 1960s." I can add to that that he has an extremely detailed knowledge of film from around the world, and was also very articulate and thoughtful about both art forms.

See his YouTube channel here.

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This episode of Editing Writing consists of an interview I did with Erin Lebacqz. Erin has been teaching writing for over 25 years. Her clients include businesses and non-profit organizations. Erin’s book High-Value Writing: Real Strategies for Real-World Writing was published just earlier this year. I wanted to focus our conversation on clear and concise writing, and Erin came through with practical examples as well as smart explanatory answers to my questions. (You can also check out Erin's YouTube channel.)

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This episode consists of an interview I did with Katie Wall. She is an editor and certified book coach who works with authors to improve the books they are writing. She and her husband Andrew co-founded Craft Better Books. They offer a variety of packages and services to potential clients. She is articulate and enthusiastic and was a lot of fun to talk to.

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Wayne continues with  the example of an excerpt from his own published novel, Will's Dead Wife, to illustrate some aspects of literary fiction. Part 1 here.